Skift Take

Whether it’s an app, text, or email, hotels will soon accept requests in all sorts of digital forms to compete for guests that starting to expect the same immediacy they experience on a smartphone from customer service.

The Four Seasons Philadelphia and three Loews properties — two in Orlando and one in Nashville — have pilot programs that let guests make any request through text messages. The hotels have partnered with a personal texting service called Zingle, which has worked with companies such as McDonald’s and Subway.

It works like this: Once you check in, the hotel will register your phone number to your personal “service on demand” profile. You will then be able to text any request, whether you are inside or outside the hotel, for your entire stay. The hotel guarantees that your text will be answered within four minutes.